Sunday, September 24, 2006

One of the easiest ways to build a collection is to exchange duplicates .To facilitate the process I have posted some duplicates for possible exchange at the Squirl photo sharing site.Simply click the orange link above to see them. More will be added throughout the week.My desire would be to exchange for any of the following categories :American and English bookplates,Bookplates from the libraries of famous people,Bookplates with Jewish signs or symbols.Please send scans or a description of your duplicates to Bookplatemaven@hotmail.com

My preference is exchange;However, I am not against selling an item if that is your preference.

If I have not previously mentioned it, a great source for getting bookplates is your own local bookbinder. They often keep old bookplates and if asked, will sell them to you.

Ephemera Related to bookplates:

Christmas CardsBookplate artists often sent their customers and friends etched or engraved Christmas Cards which show up from time to time when purchasing older collections. Many of the cards shown above were sent to Bella Landauer around 1928. She was a wealthy ephemera collector who donated much of her collection to the New York Historical Society. Charles M. Schwab was the president of Bethlehem Steel and Frederick Starr was an anthropologist and bookplate collector.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Click On Images To EnlargeClick On Images To EnlargeI would like to display bookplates used by contemporary cartoonists for their own books or drawn by cartoonists for friends and family. With this thought in mind please send scans tobookplatemaven@hotmail.com

Some of the bookplate cartoons shown are politically incorrect by today's standards . I know something about some of the artists and owners and would encourage you to send me additionalinformation. In particular, I would like to know who did the Richard Davis Rivers bookplate.It looks like something from The New Yorker .Walt Disney(1901-1966)-- This was his personal bookplate and it is illustrated on page 60 inThe Art Of The Bookplate by James Keenan.

The Dougherty's - This sure looks like one of James Thurber's hounds .

Henrik Stenvald- Designed by Per Christensen.

Howard Morehouse - Designed by Nandor Nemeth (1910-1978)

Frieda and Remus Harris -The grandson of Joel Chandler Harris

Three bookplates by C.K. Berryman -(1869-1949)- Pulitzer Prize winner and designer of the Teddy Bear, as follows:

Mary Hastings Bradley - The bookplate is dated 1928. Mrs. Bradley was a travel writer and explorer who took her young daughter Alice with her to the Belgian Congo.In later years her daughter wrote under the pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr..Reference:James Tiptree ,Jr. The Double Life Of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips

Hal Harrison Smith- A reporter

W.M.Steuart - Director of The Census.(Note the Teddy Bear Image)

Alice F. Elsener- Designed by Hans Eggiman(1872-1949)

James Allan- The story I was told by the dealer who sold this plate to me was that it was a gift to a young man going to do the lord's work in Africa.

Two universal bookplates- The one by R. Crumb was reprinted with changes as the cover ofSnatch Sampler (1977) The bookplate was drawn for Promethean Enterprises and sold around 1973.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Click On Images To EnlargeI have a love hate relationship with computers , cell phones , I-Pods etc.In general, if something invades my space or peace of mind I resent it.On the other hand , I like to tinker with things that are easy to learn .That's what drew me to Blogger in the first place .

This week I stumbled upon a collection photo sharing site which is also easy to use and downloaded about forty five bookplates with images of Cowboys and Indians. You can see them atHttp://www.squirl.info

The two 18th century American bookplates engraved by Peter Rushton Maverick for the New York Society Library were not down loaded to the photo site as I want to write a bit more about the Maverick family in the next few days.Stay tuned.

It's Saturday morning and I have not forgotten about the Mavericks, but I just scannedsome bookplates by Elly De Koster, one of my all time favorite bookplate artists .I noticed two with Rabbits which I forgot about when I did my July 2nd posting about bookplates with bunnies.

A week has slipped by so let me add some additional information about the Mavericks.Firstly, they were a family of engravers spread over several generations .Two of the most notable in terms of bookplates were Peter Rushton Maverick (1755-1811) and his son Peter (1780-1831)Between them, they did about 110 bookplates that we know about. The images shown are some of my favorites:

Peter Rushton Maverick- The engraver's own bookplate.This copy is damaged, as are most that I have seen in private collections. I believe The New York Historical Society has all of the Maverick bookplates . The best reference book about this remarkable family is The Mavericks American Engravers by Stephen De Witt Stephens

John Sitgreaves, of New Bern - John Sitgreaves (1757-1802) was a North Carolina delegate to the continental congress in 1785

B.Walker -Engraved in the early 19th century by Peter Maverick when he was located in Newark New Jersey

Sunday, September 03, 2006

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGEOn Saturday September 2nd, I attended the Baltimore Maryland book and antique show but did not find any bookplate treasures .

I did; however, buy a red enamel sign which struck my fancy.It measures 4 inches wide by 6 inches high.The dealer who sold it to me had some fanciful story about it's provenance which did not make sense . Perhaps one of you out there can translate it for me. I would be most appreciative.

While on the subject of Baltimore let me take you on a bookplate tour of people and places starting with the owner. That's right , the owner , Benedict Leonard Baltimore who lets you know in no uncertain terms that he is the "Absolute Lord and Proprietary of the Provinces of Maryland and Avalon in America " He turned over the family business to his son Charles Calvert , the 5th Baron of Baltimore .

Fast forward about 170 years and we get to John J. Kincaid who I am told ran a bar and restaurant in Baltimore. I need do do more research about this . I suspect the artist was Raymond Oscar Evans who worked at the Baltimore American around 1914.

Dorsey Potter Tyson (1891-1969) was an etcher who lived in Baltimore and did a powerful plate for William E. Bauer , about whom I have no information at this time.

Robert Garrett (1875-1961) was an investment banker who sat on the board of Princeton University.His bookplate was designed by G.E. Stone

Baltimore is a book friendly town , well worth a visit if you plan to be in the area.Here is the contact information for a well run bookstore I found on the way back to the train station.Clayton Fine Books, 317 North Charles St, Tel 410 752 6800